Ibrahimovic may be key to Thiago Silva deal at Barcelona

The rumours of a Thiago Silva move to Barcelona have been circulating for some time now and it now appears that Zlatan Ibrahimovic may turn-out to be the deal-breaker in the Catalans favour.

Spanish newspaper 'As' report that with Milan struggling to pay off the €24 million they arranged as a buy-back fee for the Swede, as part of his loan deal last season, Thiago Silva may now be negotiated as payment.

With Milan having received €68.5 million for Kaká back in only 2009, it is unclear why they are having such difficulty paying off the amount, but it is an opportunity that the Catalan giants may seize upon.

Barcelona themselves are not awash with money currently, so a deal that would involve a lowered price for the centre-back would be an attractive proposition.